Open AccessThe nucleotide sequence of a segment ofTrypanosoma bruceimitochondrial maxi-circle DNA that contains the gene for apocytochromeband some unusual unassigned reading frames
Author(s) -
Rob Benne,
Berend F.De Vries,
J. van den Burg,
Bep Klaver
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
nucleic acids research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 9.008
H-Index - 537
eISSN - 1362-4954
pISSN - 0305-1048
DOI - 10.1093/nar/11.20.6925
Subject(s) - biology , mitochondrial dna , homology (biology) , gene , genetics , nucleic acid sequence , trypanosoma brucei , open reading frame , microbiology and biotechnology , peptide sequence
The nucleotide sequence of a 2.5-kb segment of the maxi-circle of Trypanosoma brucei mtDNA has been determined. The segment contains the gene for apocytochrome b, which displays about 25% homology at the amino acid level to the apocytochrome b gene from fungal and mammalian mtDNAs. Northern blot and S1 nuclease analyses have yielded accurate map positions of an RNA species in an area that coincides with the reading frame. The segment also contains two pairs of overlapping unassigned reading frames, which lack homology with any known mitochondrial gene or URF. The DNA sequence in these areas is AG-rich (70%), resulting in URFs with an unusually high level of glycine and charged amino acids (60%). They may not encode proteins, in spite of their size and the fact that abundant transcripts are mapped in these areas.